"HarperCollins' David Brawn, the publisher of Hurin, told the media that the movie rights are presently unavailable but that he imagines at some point a deal will be made with a studio. For the moment the Tolkien estate is content with letting the novel get out there and see what the response is from the fanbase before thoughts of a movie adaptation begin to happen."

Original quote:"We all want this first and foremost to enjoy life as a book," said Brawn. "No one's saying never to a film (but) the film rights are reserved by the estate. We want to see what reaction it gets and then let it run its course." -- David Brawn

I must say, that I think it is a shame Tolkien was ever in a situation where he had to sell the movie rights to any of his works. I'm not sure that movies should ever have been made, and I don't think he wanted that either. I would be lying if I said that I did not enjoy Peter Jackson's films, but I was perfectly happy with the books by themselves. This said, I would prefer that the first and second ages of middle earth be left alone. These stories (Silmarillion, etc.) are the 'legends' and traditions that are meant to color and enrich The Lord of the Rings, as if they have been passed down through the ages. I say, leave them to the imagination.

It's a sad thing to say; but, the reality of the nature of many people today is that they are lazy and just want to sit and be fed something. I would be lieing if I said I never had such urges.

That's why a few years back when I finally heard that the movies were being made I was beyond belief that it was finally being done. By that time I had read The Lord of the Rings 5 or 6 times (only in my early 20s now) and I finally thought to myself "I get to see what other people think Legolas, Gondor, Balrog, etc look like!" Sure there is fantasy art and things like that which one can peruse. However, that only make so much of an impact when you page through an art book. When you see these things "in real life" (as with actors, sets, special effects, etc) there is a whole new element added to it.

Just in the way that you say the 1st and 2nd Ages of ME are the legends and traditions that enrich LOTR, I think a movie can do that in a way for the avid fan/reader of the series. Now when I go back and re-read the books it is fun to catch myself now and then picturing something from the movies as reading it and then I get to become an active reader and make myself forget that and create new images in my mind as I go through the books.

This isn't to say that I want to see a CoH movie anytime soon; but, food for thought. The Hobbit live action a la' the rest of the movies need to come to fruition first and then maybe in 5 years they can do a Children of Hurin movie which for all intensive purposes could even be slightly removed from The Franchise and become a stand alone Fantasy Adventure movie.

After being hideously scarred by the animated Hobbit travesty in the 70's (shown to my 5th grade class at school - I put up a fuss and was excused 20 minutes in) I swore never to see Tolkien on film again. So many people insisted that I simply MUST see Fellowship, even knowing of my objection, that when somebody bought me a ticket and told me I was going, I went (fully expecting to have to walk out in disgust). To my vast relief, I was wrong; in my view, the movies were not the book, but a beautiful cinematic work, which didn't make complete hash of the book or mar my perception of it in a significant way. Probably the exposure, multiple awards, and resulting consumer frenzy didn't hurt any. Maybe. But -

Tolkien intended these writings to be a singular experience for each reader. Specifics were purposefully left open to interpretation, to be drawn by the imagination and from the past experiences of each person. I like my own images, of Beleriand and the elves of the first age in particular. I do not believe they can be improved upon, and they might be altered beyond recovery by another interpretation. I would not want to see cinematic representations of the first or second ages, lovely or not, and I feel very strongly that it would be a terrible disservice to the next generation of readers to create complete backgrounds for them through all the ages of Middle-Earth. May they let it rest - at least for 20 years or so - and let us each keep our own little piece of Middle-earth.